11 uplifting news stories you probably missed while following Gaza, Iraq, Ebola and Ferguson

Once again, it's been a terrible few weeks of news. Headline after headline: Islamic State, Ebola, US airstrikes, Israel-Gaza, Syria, Russia in Ukraine. And then, to top it all off, a white police officer murdered an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. Oh yeah, and Robin Williams died.

Ugh.

But some not-so-terrible things also happened these past couple of weeks. In fact, some excellent things happened for human rights and the environment. And also for pandas.

Here are 11 recent uplifting stories you might have missed.

1) A girl lost in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami returned home

Raudhatul Jannah, 14, was reunited with her family a decade after she disappeared in the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 2004. Raudhatul was 4-years-old when the tsunami hit her home in Indonesia, sweeping away her and her 7-year-old brother from her parents — literally from the outstretched hands of her father as the family clung to a large wooden board.

After a month of searching for the children, her parents gave up.

For 10 years Raudhatul's parents assumed that she and her older brother were dead. That was, until one day in June, Raudhatul’s uncle noticed a girl who looked remarkably like his long-lost niece living about 80 miles south from where she was raised. He asked around and found out that the look-alike had been found on a remote island after the tsunami, and the her parents were assumed to be dead. A fisherman brought her home with him and she'd been living there with him and his wife ever since.

2) Maryam Mirzakhani became the first female mathematician to win the Fields Medal

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For the first time in the award's 78-year history, a female mathematician has won the enormously prestigious Fields Medal, which is awarded once every four years and is widely considered the “Nobel Prize of mathematics.”

The prize went to Maryam Mirzakhani, a Stanford professor who studies surface geometry. It's pretty hard to understand, exactly, but that's why she's a Fields Medal-winning mathematician and we're not.

Mirzakhani was born in Tehran, Iran. She’s really, really, really smart.

3) Uganda's anti-gay law was overturned

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In February, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law the horrible and insane "Anti-Homosexuality Act," which made homosexual acts punishable by life in prison.

So that was some bad news. But now it's turned into good news!

On Aug. 1, a judge on Uganda’s constitutional court, Judge Stevens Kavuma, ruled that the law was passed unconstitutionally without quorum. So it's invalid.

A representative of the White House National Security Council called the decision “an important step in the right direction for human rights, not just of the LGBT (lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender) community, but of all Ugandans.”

The decision can be appealed, so keep your fingers crossed.

4) France passed a landmark gender equality law

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This is huge! If you haven't heard about this, I know what you're thinking — HOW HAVE I NOT HEARD ABOUT THIS?!

The law, which French President Francoise Hollande signed on Aug. 5, ends a variety of restrictions on abortion and promotes gender equality at work and in the home.

It’s a big deal, especially in terms of women's reproductive rights. Lilian Sepulveda, director of the Global Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights, put it in context: “At a time when women in many parts of the world, including in the United States and Spain, are seeing their rights restricted, violated, and disrespected, France has set an important example for the rest of the globe with its progressive stance toward reproductive health care.”

5) Beijing cut coal use by 7 percent in the first half of 2014

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After announcing several new initiatives designed to curb carbon emissions — including, most recently, a commitment to eliminate coal use in six major Beijing districts by 2020 — China is showing some significant results. Half-way through 2014, Beijing reduced its coal use by 7 percent.

6) Delhi University created a "transgender" category on admissions forms

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Beginning next year, undergraduates at India’s premier university will be able to register as male, female, or transgender. The move follows a legal ruling in April by India’s Supreme Court that acknowledged transgender as a legitimate third gender category.

7) Ten major PR firms announced they won’t work with climate deniers anymore

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Ten of the top PR firms in the world announced that they would no longer work on behalf of clients that either deny the existence of climate change or that oppose regulations designed to reduce carbon emissions

Okay, maybe you're thinking — Why do I care about PR firms?? But consider this. If you're a multinational corporation that wants to convince people that climate change isn't real — or isn't a big deal — it's now harder for you to get that message out there.

Well-connected and media-savvy public relations firms can have enormous influence on government policy and public opinion. When those firms refuse to work for the bad guys, it can make a real difference.

8) China didn’t repatriate a group of North Korean defectors

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So here's a case of something that's usually bad news turning into good news because the usual bad thing didn't happen as usual.

The easiest way out of North Korea is through China. Until now, China has generally returned North Korean defectors to their home country. It’s a terrible policy from a human rights perspective. Defectors repatriated to North Korea are forced into labor camps and often executed. But China and North Korea are friends, so, ya know…

That might be changing. In February, the United Nations released its report on human rights violations in North Korea. And it called out China for repatriating defectors knowing that “persons who are forcibly repatriated from China are commonly subjected to torture, arbitrary detention, summary execution and other forms of sexual violence.”

On Aug. 12, Chinese authorities captured a group of 10 North Koreans crossing the border on foot. In a very positive sign, Sky News reports, China hasn’t repatriated the defectors and is instead negotiating with South Korean diplomats about next steps.

9) Scientists captured interstellar dust from outside our solar system

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In 2006, NASA’s Stardust probe dropped a bunch of particle samples to Earth via parachute. Now, scientists have discovered that seven of the particles are interstellar dust from outside our solar system. The dust is likely millions of years old. It’s the first time researchers have been able to capture and return to Earth something that originated outside our solar system.

Science!

10) French lawmakers proposed a law requiring supermarkets to donate unsold food

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According to the World Health Organization, more than a third of discarded food products are consumable.

A large group of French MPs are trying to help. They've proposed a law that would require supermarkets to donate “unsold but still consumable food products to at least one food charity.”

11) Panda triplets were born in China!

Keep your fingers crossed cuz baby pandas have really high mortality rates buuuut — ERMEGERD PANDA TRIPLETS!!!!!

The panda triplets were born in China’s Chimelong safari park on July 29. They are the first surviving panda triplets EVER.

A real win for humanity.